Carolyn Ann Seward Mullen

Mother | Grandmother | Georgia Fan
On June 28, 2024, Carolyn Ann Seward Mullen passed away at the age of 81 in Greenville, SC.
She was the daughter of the late Fred Walter Seward and Laura Wilma “Honey” Seward. Ann was born in Wilmington, NC in 1943 where her father helped build ships during World War II. After the war, the family settled in Charlotte where her father began a career in sales. A few years later the family settled in Laurens, SC. There her father worked as a manufacturer’s representative for the Jostens ring company and her parents founded the South Carolina Cap and Gown company, which they later sold to Jostens.
Growing up on West Main Street in Laurens, Ann loved attending dancing classes, taking piano lessons, and played the drums in the Laurens High School marching band. She graduated from Anderson College with an associate’s degree in art, then earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. After college, she and her best friend earned their wings in the rigorous Trans World Airlines (TWA) flight attendant training program. Based in Los Angeles, they traveled the country in the heyday of airline glamour.
In LA, Ann also reconnected with her college beau James Joseph Mullen of Lake Forest, IL who attended Navy supply officer training in Athens, GA before his deployment to Vietnam. They were married in 1966 and moved to Chicago where Jim planned to join his father in the actuarial profession. In 1967, the couple’s daughter Katherine was born. Jim had the opportunity to join ITT and the nascent computer industry so the young couple moved to Silver Springs, MD and later Houston, TX. After Ann’s father had a health crisis, they moved to Laurens to help with the family business and welcomed a son Larry. Ann and Jim divorced in 1972. She married insurance salesman Douglas Maurice McDonald in 1972, later divorcing him in 1979.
After the family sold the cap and gown company to Jostens, Ann continued to work with her mother in the ring sales business until Wilma’s retirement in 1980. She then moved with her children to Greenville, SC, earned a master’s degree in education from the University of South Carolina, and became a science teacher at Greer Middle School. In 1985, she earned her Realtor’s license and worked for several real estate agencies and home builders until her retirement.
Throughout her life, Ann was an avid sports fan and University of Georgia supporter. She religiously listened to Larry Munson announce the football games each week (even when they were televised). For many years she and Honey joined their friends Judd and Betty Farr at their famous UGA tailgate party. Each week Ann and Honey baked several chocolate pound cakes and dozens of deviled eggs to take to the games. Ann served for several years as president of the Greenville, SC Bulldog Club and was active in the alumni community.
Ann is survived by her son James Lawrence “Larry” Mullen, his wife Megan and their daughter Gemma. Also by her daughter Katherine Mullen Chalmers, her husband Paul, their son Davis, and their daughter Evelyn.
Due to the impending July 4th holiday, the family will announce a celebration of life ceremony at a later date.
Condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting www.grayfuneralhome.com

Gray Funeral Home of Laurens is assisting the Mullen family with services.